Dr. Drew Pinsky addressed the rising issues of addiction and sexual promiscuity in American culture last night at a beneficiary event held at the Arlington Theater.

The event benefitted treatment programs offered through the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the nonprofit organization New Noise Santa Barbara. Dr. Drew, host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Loveline” and MTV’s “Celebrity Rehab,” opened his show by referencing UCSB and its main distractions — scenery, alcohol, and drugs.

Dr. Drew Pinsky

His tone quickly changed, however, as he dove into a discussion on crack addiction. The dialogue covered various stages of addiction, including symptoms and causes, excuses, and tell-tale signs.

“The kinds of motivation and priorities, such as loving your family, living your life are taken over by the addiction,” Dr. Drew said. “The addict knows it should be enough.”

Dr. Drew also promoted his new book, The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America, which explains why celebrities have drug and alcohol problems. According to Dr. Drew, celebrities have a dangerous influence on the public.

“Somebody who seeks being a celebrity has a higher level of abuse; it is a mental health issue,” Dr. Drew said.

The discussion was not limited to addiction. Dr. Drew linked alcohol use to sexual experimentation commonly found on college campuses.

“Hooking up occurs 96 percent of the time when partners are intoxicated,” Dr. Drew said.

Dr. Drew talked about negative affects of binge drinking amongst college-age students, something CADA deals with every year. CADA strives to build safer, healthier communities by providing drug and alcohol education programs.

According to Tess Greenberg, media and special events director for CADA, Dr. Drew’s concerns about addiction, sexuality, narcissism, and treatment parallel CADA’s concerns.

“The money raised tonight will benefit CADA treatment programs,” Greenberg said, “We are trying to do outreach at UCSB and bring involvement to SBCC.”

NNSB is a nonprofit organization that helps independent artists promote various shows and holds events throughout the county. According to Jeff Theimer, UCSB alumnus and founder of NNSB, community participation is instrumental to the success of our art scene.

“We need people to come out and support the artists so that we can keep on producing these shows and the SB art scene,” Theimer said.

NNSB is hosting the festival with hopes of featuring various music industry insiders who can provide advice for up-and-coming musicians. According to Theimer, this weekend’s music festival provides relevant discussion by panelists who work in legal and commercial songwriting at a moderate price.